The transition from Inmate No. 301382 to private citizen for Michael Skakel -- the Kennedy cousin awaiting a new trial for the 1975 murder of Greenwich teenager Martha Moxley -- got off to a surreal and other-worldy start Thursday after his release on $1.2 million bond.

As if he were Rip Van Winkle, it was both a homecoming and a re-education for a middle-aged man who spent the past 11 years behind bars, as told by a key member of Skakel's inner circle.

"It was just kind of like a little kid at Disney World, taking everything in," said Vito Colucci Jr., a private investigator and ex-cop from Stamford.

It was Colucci's job to navigate Skakel, 53, through the media onslaught outside the Stamford courthouse and into a waiting rental car with Massachusetts license plates, which was chosen so the car couldn't be traced.

No one else was in the car with them as Colucci and Skakel sped off to an undisclosed location, part of the way with a police escort. They mostly discussed the case, according to Colucci, who testified on Skakel's behalf last spring during the wrongful imprisonment trial that led to his release.

It's believed that Skakel went directly to the home of a family friend in Darien, though Colucci would neither confirm nor deny the account, which came from another person with knowledge of Skakel's itinerary.

A request for comment from Skakel and his siblings, who secured his release with a cashier's check for the full bond amount, was left with a family spokesman Friday.

The first full day of freedom for Skakel -- the nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy and the late Robert F. Kennedy -- fell on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

A day earlier, during the ride from court, Skakel's sense of direction showed no ill effects from his decade of imprisonment.

"He was looking all over," Colucci said. "He did remember it."

In contrast to many of the reporters and photographers who tracked his movements and complained of the cold, Skakel's cabin fever was evident when he reached his destination.

Colucci was standing in the backyard when Skakel emerged from the house.

Whether he returns is now shrouded in doubt after a Connecticut judge vacated his conviction last month in the golf club bludgeoning of Moxley. Both were 15 at the time. A warrant for Skakel's arrest wasn't issued until 2000 and he was tried as an adult.

The state is appealing the stunning reversal, which was based on Skakel's claim that he was deprived of a competent defense by his starstruck lawyer at the time, Michael "Mickey" Sherman.

"I know this is going to take a year," Moxley's mother, Dorthy, 81, said Friday.

Under the terms of his release, Skakel cannot leave Connecticut without the court's permission and must wear a GPS tracking bracelet. He is required to check in with the bail commissioner's office every other week.

Skakel is expected to seek permission to visit his 14-year-old son, who lives in New York State.

"The main thing on his mind is seeing his kid and, of course, his family and friends," Colucci said.

On the bail paperwork, Skakel listed the Norwalk address of his brother, Stephen Skakel, as his place of residence.

It's unclear whether Skakel spent his first night of freedom there on Thursday or whether he watched media coverage of the anniversary of JFK's death on Friday.